This has been an interesting couple of months for me, to say the least. As you may be aware, I’ve just spent the last eight weeks completely immersing myself in all the various ins, outs, and nuances of the new 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray format. I’ve watched disc and after disc, and have reviewed nine of them so far (you can find them here, with more on the way). I’ve put the format’s first player, the Samsung UDB-K8500 (which I’ll review more fully soon, but about which I’ve got some key things to say below) through its paces. I’ve spoken with many of the leading studios, engineers, and content producers (who are really starting to work with the format) about the format. And I’ve come to a number of what I believe are well-informed conclusions about it, based on my nearly two decades of experience doing what I do. [Read on here…]

All right, we’ve got two more 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray reviews for you this afternoon and they’re both animated: Fox’s The Peanuts Movie and Warner’s The LEGO Movie. Neither is native 4K but the High Dynamic Range really makes a big difference on them – especially on The LEGO Movie – so they’re both worth checking out if you’ve joined the early adopter ranks on this format. I’m going to try to look at a couple Sony titles on the format tomorrow, so do check back. [Read on here…]

All right, this week is going to be all about 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray here at The Bits. I’ve been watching a ton of discs and working on title reviews, as well as making additional notes on my forthcoming Samsung UBD-K8500 player review and also my general thoughts on my experiences this far with the format. I’ll have new reviews each day, and I’m targeting Thursday for the player review and general thoughts. Sarah and I have had family visiting for the past week, so there’s only so much time in the day. And these things do take time.

Nevertheless, we’re kicking things off today with my look at a pair of titles that should be among the first that any new 4K adopter picks up on the Ultra HD format: Lionsgate’s Sicario and Fox’s The Revenant, both in full native 4K. Sicario also includes Dolby Atmos audio. And while The Revenant doesn’t have object-based audio, its 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio is demo-quality. More importantly, with its gorgeous Oscar-winning cinematography, it is the single best looking title I’ve seen on the format thus far. It’s a real HDR stunner. Check out my reviews (here and here) for more on all that. [Read on here…]

Okay, there will be at least a couple updates today as I work to wrap up our coverage of CES 2016. The first is a quick one because of a bit of breaking news: Philips has just announced their own entry into the UHD Blu-ray player market, the BDP7501. It has a smaller form factor that is typical of most BD players, features HDMI 2.0a, 4K upscaling, built-in WiFi, and 4K streaming via Netflix and other digital providers. There’s no price and street date announced yet beyond sub $400 (which probably means $399, making it one of the cheaper offerings) and Spring 2016. Here’s what it looks like... [Read on here…]

All right, I’m finally back from CES 2016, after three long and exhausting days of running around the show and a harrowing late-night drive back to Southern California amid rain and snow. And I’ve gotten a good long rest to recover from all of the above.

So let’s talk about what I saw related to UHD BD on the show floor Wednesday... [Read on here…]

All right, I’m wrapping up our coverage of Press Day at CES 2016 with a quick report of key UHD-related highlights from the big afternoon press events in the day, which featured tech industry giants Samsung and Sony. [Read on here…]

CES 2016 continues in Las Vegas today with the official Press Day, during which some of the biggest CE manufacturers stage elaborate press events to highlight the products and services they play to announce at the convention. [Read on here…]

Shout! Factory has just announced its first batch of 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray titles with HDR, set to arrive in Spring/Summer of this year. All are IMAX titles. They include Journey to Space, Humpback Whales, Flight of the Butterflies, Rocky Mountain Express, Wonders of the Arctic, and The Last Reef: Cities Beneath the Sea. [Read on here…]

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